The Hotcakes are the Big Apple-based rock/pop/glam foursome behind the song that already is on many baseball fans’ lips in Cincinnati. “We thought ‘Paint the Town Red’ was the right song to introduce The Hotcakes to the public,” drummer Lee Leshen told The Rumble. “The song is very dramatic, and we thought it would sound terrific when played in large, open venues. Sports stadiums were the right fit, so we thought of a select few teams that contained the word ‘Red’ and started dialing.” The Red Sox? “They were already secure with their music,” Leshen said. The Reds have purchased rights to the song, will use it in TV and radio advertising – and possibly have The Hotcakes play it at Great American Ballpark. “We would jump at the chance,” Leshen said.

“We’re all New Yorkers, so we’re split pretty evenly between the Mets and Yankees,” Leshen, who lives in Manhattan and grew up in Port Washington, L.I., said of the band, which includes lead singer Erin Marsz, keyboardist Eva Brooks and guitarist Chris Hills. “If it weren’t for my Johnny Bench catcher’s mitt saving me from my brother Craig’s fastball growing up, I wouldn’t be able to play the drums today. Obviously now, we’re all becoming Reds fans. I think it’s every boy’s dream to walk on to a major league field, but if I can walk on with a pair of drumsticks, that would be the ultimate thrill.” You can listen to “Paint the Town Red” at thehotcakes.com and see the band April 10 at Pianos (11 p.m.) on Ludlow Street on the Lower East Side.

Giants no-cut, so far

It’s a jungle out there, and the economic nightmare that has hit the nation hasn’t spared the mighty NFL, which once appeared to be printing money. Several teams and the league office have laid off employees, Commissioner Roger Goodell has taken a voluntary 20-25 percent salary cut, and last week, the Jets demanded that 60 workers on the business side – marketing, media relations, finance and business operations – take forced two-week unpaid furloughs. The Giants are not immune to the financial downturn but at the moment are holding fast and have refrained from any unpaid “vacations,” layoffs, buyouts or firings. “We are trying to be more cost-conscious and operate more efficiently,” Giants co-owner John Mara told The Post, “but we have not considered layoffs or furloughs.” . . . Giants linebacker Danny Clark is one of four NFL players who arrived last week in the Persian Gulf to visit with U.S. troops in Kuwait and Iraq. It is part of the NFL-USO tradition started more than 40 years ago. Vikings DE Jared Allen, Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald and Rams LB Will Witherspoon are the other players to take the trip. It’s a personal deal for Clark, whose twin brothers recently were deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan while serving in the Marines and Air Force.

Simon says . . .

Jill Martin’s “Gimme a Minute” celebrity halftime interviews on MSG Network continue to sizzle. Last week, Jill kibitzed with Paul Simon, asking him what he thought of the Garden playing the song, “You Can Call Me Al” whenever Al Harrington scores. Simon replied, “My son thought it was cool and now you’ll just have to trade for a Julio.” Meanwhile, Martin’s counterpart, sideline reporter Tina Cervasio, has started blogging about her experiences going on the road with the team – “Tina’s Tales from the Road” – found on http://www.nyknicks.com.

Mets ready for business

When the Mets put individual tickets for April and May on sale next Sunday, they plan to have an extra phone technician on hand at Citi Field. Team Wilpon sold out the two exhibition games against the Red Sox in 45 minutes on Friday and the demand for tickets was so overwhelming that the Mets executive office experienced phone failure for most of the day. Earlier this week, the March 29 Big East college baseball game between St. John’s and Georgetown sold out. “That’s great news to hear,” said Mets manager Jerry Manuel. “I got a chance to see Citi Field during the winter when I came in for meetings. Everyone in camp is talking about the new ballpark and we can’t wait to get back and get the season started.” Fans can log onto mets.com, losmets.com or call 718-507-TIXX next Sunday to purchase the individual seats. . . . CC Sabathia will host a group of 40 underprivileged children from East Harlem at George M. Steinbrenner Field on March 17 when the Yankees take on the Pirates. Sabathia will speak to the kids and give them a tour of the clubhouse.

Whoopi Gomez

Whoopi Goldberg showed up to help raise money to benefit the Garden of Dreams Foundation Monday night and get in on the action at the tables with her favorite Ranger player, Scott Gomez, when the Blueshirts, decked out in tuxedos, hosted Casino Night at Gotham Hall. . . . As the Red Bulls were sweating out training camp in Argentina, the Red Bull street team – think a soccer version of an AND1 mix tape – was doing its thing Wednesday here in New York on NBC’s “Today” show. The Street Team also got to hang with Brazilian supermodel Adriana Lima backstage at Rockefeller Plaza.

Knick Poets Society

Walt “Clyde” Frazier is not the only poet around the Knicks these days. On Tuesday evening, the winner of the 6th annual Knicks Poetry Slam was chosen from the 14 finalists in the poetry spoken word competition in front of a packed house at the Manhattan Center. Knicks Nate Robinson, Chris Duhon, and Jared Jeffries, as well as living legend Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, were awed by the passion of winner Janine Simon of Brooklyn, who took home a $10,000 education grant as well as $25,000 of Nike equipment for her to donate. Also, three New York City area high school seniors won the Knicks Poetry Slam essay contest and were awarded full tuition scholarships from the University of Wisconsin and Mercy College for a combined value of over $220,000. . . . The Nets will host “An Evening of Chinese Culture” during Nets-Knicks tonight at the Izod Center. In conjunction with the Chinese American Business Development Center, the Nets will have pre-game, halftime, and post-game performances by artists from mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong. Yi Jianlian, a 7-foot Chinese forward, averages just under 10 ppg.